Duel on Cophrigin V
Shortly before 0 BBY, a lightsaber duel was fought on the fifth planet of the Cophrigin star system, between exiled Jedi Master An'ya Kuro and Lord Starkiller, who was once Galen Marek and was the one who murdered Darth Vader on the Death Star. After Kuro, known only to her pursuers as "the Dark Woman," was tracked to her hiding place on Cophrigin V by the Emperor's Hand Mara Jade, Starkiller was dispatched by his Sith Master Darth Sidious to the Outer Rim Territories to find and eliminate the rogue Jedi. In doing so, Starkiller hoped to complete his Master's plan to eradicate all Jedi, as ordered and initiated by Sidious himself nearly two decades prior. Lord Starkiller's arrival on Cophrigin V was sensed by Kuro, and the Jedi Master prepared herself for an encounter with the Dark Lord. The Sith assassin found Kuro in her sanctuary and quickly attacked with expectations of cutting her down swiftly, but he was surprised by the skill with which his opponent dueled. Kuro managed to overcome the Sith assassin on several occasions, using the Force to subdue him with the surrounding flora as well as successfully disarming him when she knocked his lightsaber from his grasp. However, the Dark Woman's own power began to wane before the increasing dark side strength of Starkiller, and she was defeated when the Dark Lord used his lightsaber and the Force to fell a massive tree, which pinned the Dark Woman beneath it. He then moved in for the kill, and An'ya Kuro's body vanished into the Force. Her demise on Cophrigin V resulted in a mission accomplished for Starkiller and was also one of the final Jedi deaths of Lord Sidious' Great Jedi Purge. Background Almost two decades had passed since the Galactic Republic had been overthrown by the Order of the Sith Lords and replaced with the establishment of a Sith-governed Galactic Empire. The Jedi Order, stewards of the Republic since its inception, had been all but exterminated in a purge initiated by the Sith's Dark Lord, a man known as Darth Sidious. On the same day that the Republic fell and was reorganized into the Galactic Empire, Sidious, in his guise as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, issued an order to the clone troopers in the Grand Army of the Republic to execute all Jedi without question, thus enacting the Great Jedi Purge. Nearly all were killed, and most of the survivors were hunted down by agents of Sidious' Empire in the years that followed. One such individual was a Human female Jedi Master named An'ya Kuro, known only to Imperial spies as the "Dark Woman." Reports of Kuro's whereabouts in the Outer Rim territories eventually reached Sidious through one of his operatives, Emperor's Hand Mara Jade. Jade was ready and willing to dispatch the Jedi fugitive and even vied with the Emperor's Sith apprentice, Starkiller, for the mission, but Sidious assigned the task of hunting Kuro down to his apprentice, given his reputation for being able to find and eliminate Jedi Knights—wherever they hid. He promptly left for the fifth planet in the Cophrigin system with a contingent of Imperial stormtroopers in search of the Dark Woman. When Lord Starkiller's Lambda-class shuttle touched down on Cophrigin V, he advised his accompanying stormtroopers to maintain their position with the craft, as his mission did not require their support. The Dark Lord's arrival was also sensed through the Force by Kuro, who, in an acceptance of fate, ceased her meditation and readied herself to face Starkiller in battle. It was not long before the Sith assassin appeared at the threshold of a lush sanctuary and was greeted by the mysterious Dark Woman. The duel An'ya Kuro engaged in a conversation with her executioner that eventually led to a philosophical debate regarding both the dark and light sides of the Force. Starkiller's position was that the power of the dark side was greater than that of the light—something that he believed would be obvious to a being who referred to herself as the Dark Woman. Kuro, however, stated that while the dark path was one easily undertaken, it was one only embarked upon by the faint-of-heart. This enraged Starkiller, who ignited his lightsaber and struck at Kuro. The Dark Woman parried his blow, and an intense duel ensued. Lord Starkiller had fully expected to defeat the Jedi Master with relative ease, but he was amazed to be faced with an opponent of advanced age and sufficient skill to contend with a Sith Lord. Kuro noted the Sith's exceptional dueling talent as well before lunging at him, performing a series of acrobatic maneuvers in an attempt to overwhelm her adversary. The Dark Lord was unrelenting in his defense, and when ample distance had been placed between them, Starkiller reiterated his belief in the superiority of the dark side as he hurled boulders at Kuro with the Force, only to have them cut to pieces by her purple blade. She responded by using the Force to manipulate the surrounding plant life and subdue Starkiller with thorn-covered vines, rendering the Dark Lord immobile. Marek managed to block the attack that followed, though, and was also able to repel the Jedi Master as he escaped the plant-restraints under her command. This time Starkiller advanced with powerful blows, but these were checked as the Dark Woman retaliated and disappeared into the cover of a nearby waterfall. She emerged behind him and caught him unawares, giving her the opportunity to knock his lightsaber from his grasp. Her advantage was short-lived, as Starkiller seized her arm and forced her own lightsaber from her hand. Realizing that her strength was diminishing, he cast her aside and recalled his own weapon as he prepared to finish her. Kuro recovered her lightsaber but was backed up against an enormous tree; with nowhere to run, the assassin sliced the trunk with his lightsaber and used the Force to bring it down upon the Dark Woman. Pinned beneath the tree, Kuro was utterly helpless as Starkiller brought his blade down for the killing stroke. Her body then disappeared into the Force in the manner of Jedi Masters, leaving only her robes and a victorious Starkiller. Aftermath Immediately after her death, An'ya Kuro appeared to Starkiller as a Force ghost. Addressing him as Galen Marek, the man he was before he embraced the dark side of the Force again, Kuro stated that in death she proved that the light side of the Force possessed greater power and that she saw within him the potential to become free of the dark side's influence. Starkiller, however, did not seek emancipation, and he struck at the apparition with his lightsaber in defiance of his former identity. Kuro's ghost then vanished, and Starkiller departed, having successfully executed yet another victim in accordance with the Great Jedi Purge. Category:Battles of the Great Jedi Purge Category:Duels